Hi,
I recently recieved a letter from a debt recovery on behalf for a letting agency about recovering some rent. At the apartment there was only two of us and we both signed a joint and several liability tenancy. we moved out of this apartment about 2 years ago and even got our deposits back. Now im sure that I paid my rent in one sum at the begining of the year and im not sure about my housemate.
question is do i have to pay for the rent supposebly my housemates owe them?

thanks

westminster

03-04-2010, 10:49 AM

question is do i have to pay for the rent supposedly my housemates owe them?

Both you and the other tenant are jointly and individually liable for all of the rent, so yes, you have to pay if the other tenant doesn't.

It is possible that you got all the deposit back because the contract didn't allow for deductions to be made for rent arrears - ?

Are you still in contact with the other tenant?

Snorkerz

03-04-2010, 11:29 AM

Alternatively, it could be an admin error - perhaps you and your flat-mates have receipts or could get bank statements?

Poppy35

03-04-2010, 13:38 PM

I would def ask the debt collection agency to prove the arrears owed or go visit the LA and ask them for a print out. Seems odd after all this time to chase a debt and most agents would not refund the deposit unless all was well - unless of course like Lawcruncher states your AST did not allow the deposit to be used for rent arrears.

Snorkerz

03-04-2010, 13:46 PM

I suspect that after chasing the other tenant for 18 months or so and getting no-where, the landlord has moved his attentions to OP.

jeffrey

04-04-2010, 14:00 PM

Hi,
I recently recieved a letter from a debt recovery on behalf for a letting agency about recovering some rent. At the apartment there was only two of us and we both signed a joint and several liability tenancy. we moved out of this apartment about 2 years ago and even got our deposits back. Now im sure that I paid my rent in one sum at the begining of the year and im not sure about my housemate.
question is do i have to pay for the rent supposebly my housemates owe them?

thanks
The other replies to you are correct. However, surely you have evidence that all rent was duly paid, so simply produce it to the agency.

kevin1314

04-04-2010, 18:39 PM

well i contacted my housemate and he says he has paid it. this is the first i have heard from the agency about anything i owe them. they didnt even give me any notice just got the debt collectors on me. i called the letting agency and they said the matter has been handed over to the debt collectors.
they've given me 7 days to pay up 5 months worth of rent. i dont see how a letting agency can forget to collect 5 months of rent.

the deposit i recieved wasn't the full deposit, they deducted some for carpet cleaning or something even though i paid for a carpet cleaner before i moved out, but thats another story.

i dont think my house mate has any evidence of paying the rent other than proving he took money from his account from a cash machine. even then i dont think you can get statements printed from 2 years ago.

going to have to wait till tuesday before i can call the debt collectors and see what evidence they have.

thanks for all the help.

Grrr

04-04-2010, 21:59 PM

Oh dear - you really want to sort this because it will go down on your credit record and cause you all sorts of problems.

You (or your ex-flatmate) should be able to get copies of statements from 2 years ago, although if they only show cash withdrawls, that's not going to get either of you very far. If you can't provide any proof of payment, (eg rentbook, receipts, statements) then I'm afraid you're stuffed. Sorry.

Good luck.

Grrr

Snorkerz

04-04-2010, 22:01 PM

Okay, you need to get as much evidence as you can that the money they claim has been paid. The debt collectors and/or landlord don't have to prove anything or have ANY evidence - they have proof that rent was due (your signed tenancy agreement) and you have to prove you paid it.

In the civil courts, decisions are made on what the judge believes actually happened - this does not mean you necesserily need hard proof - but you are going to need something. Bank statements (iirc) are available for 6 years, so time to get some print-outs. Search your old paperwork for receipts etc. "I paid it guv - honest" isn't going to be enough.

The fact that LL did not take this 'rent' from your deposit counts for very little - some tenancy agreements do not permit the deposit to be used for rent payment.

mind the gap

04-04-2010, 22:03 PM

So your flatmate withdrew a similar amount of money from an ATM on roughly the same day each month for five months? If he can get the printouts for this, it may help him persuade a judge 'on the balance of probablilities' that he paid his rent.

And are you saying he then paid it in cash to the LL but did not ask for a receipt? That seems unlikely, doesn't it?

kevin1314

05-04-2010, 00:26 AM

Yeah we paid it cash and i doubt my housemate will still has his receipts from 2 years ago because im pretty sure he would have just chucked it away. I have my receipt of my one of payment at the beginning of the tenancy.

Doesn't the landlord need to give some kind of notice before even going to the debt collectors?
The Landlord didnt even try to contact me through phone or letter or email from me or my hosuemate about this missing rent in the past 2 years.

Snorkerz

05-04-2010, 01:26 AM

Yeah we paid it cash and i doubt my housemate will still has his receipts from 2 years ago because im pretty sure he would have just chucked it away. I have my receipt of my one of payment at the beginning of the tenancy.

Doesn't the landlord need to give some kind of notice before even going to the debt collectors?
The Landlord didnt even try to contact me through phone or letter or email from me or my hosuemate about this missing rent in the past 2 years.Landlord soesn't have to serve any notice on you - it was probably the debt companys job to find you. He will have to communicate with you (possibly through the debt collectors) if he wants to take this matter to court. The debt collectors won't be able to do much without a court order.